


Three Seconds

by Seachelle623



Series: Whatever Happens...happens [8]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: BUT ALSO HAPPY, Because there are donuts, High School, I swear this is going to break me, M/M, Multi, Sad, The time has come for me to share Jaemin's back problem story, There are donuts, i'm crying while writing this, very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-06 03:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14633565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seachelle623/pseuds/Seachelle623
Summary: It was only a ten minute walk back home, a fifteen minute walk to Renjun’s apartment and a thirty minute walk to Jeno’s place……but it only took three seconds for Jaemin’s face to come into contact with the floor due to the chronic pain that was clawing at his back.





	1. Downfall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DMJ Dings](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=DMJ+Dings).



> Me: I will upload TaeMark's first chapter soon
> 
> Also Me: Oh wait, people wanted me to write about Jaemin's back problem. 
> 
> Basically treat this as half a one shot since I need to edit the other half.

“Ah shit…don’t act up now…” Jaemin mumbled to himself as he massaged his lower back, praying that the stinging pain would go away. He was currently buying a gift for his boyfriends since it had been a while since he had given them anything and now that it was school holidays, Jaemin could finally find the time to head over to the jewellery store and have a look at what they had to offer. He had been holding a bracelet and it’s matching pair, sad that he couldn’t buy a third one in the same style since they were only sold as _couple_ bracelets. _Ugh, I_ hate _that word so much…’couple’. We’re just as happy as any couple and there’s three of us._ Holding the couple bracelets and heading over to the earrings section, Jaemin scanned the multiple styles and vaguely wondered which one would look good on Jeno. _Renjun hasn’t gotten his ears pierced yet and I know he isn’t planning to so he can have the bracelet…Jeno though…ah! That one!_ Smiling to himself as he picked off a pair that was a simple ring with a chain, designed to be worn near the tip of the ear and not the lobe - the exact place where Jeno and himself got their ears pierced from a dare three years ago. Jaemin chuckled to himself when he thought about wearing one of the earrings and one of the bracelets. _They’re going to love this._ He placed them on the counter and smiled when the cashier sent a friendly one his way.

“Something special coming up?” The guy asked him, eyebrow raised as Jaemin shook his head, wincing when his lower back had a stab of pain at the movement. Absentmindedly, Jaemin massaged it as he forced a smile.

“Nothing really. Just wanted to give my boyfriends a present,” He replied, watching in amusement as the cashier paused for a brief second before resuming to place the bracelets and earrings in separate bags.

“You’ve got multiple?” The cashier asked him, softly asking whether he was paying by cash or card afterwards to which Jaemin responded by holding up his card. _Fuck…stop acting up back._

“Two actually. They’re amazing,” He said and hummed a tune to distract himself from the ever increasing pain that was probably being caused by the herniated disc that he had gotten checked the week before. _Why now of all times?! My next x-ray is in two weeks time!_

“And people don’t criticise you for it?” The cashier asked as he handed Jaemin his receipt, face full of questions and wonders that Jaemin himself could understand. _He reminds me of me when I first realised that I liked_ both _Jeno and Renjun._

“We don’t really care. One of them even won an art competition with art inspired by the memories we had made together - all three of us,” He replied, taking the receipt that was being offered to him and eyeing the bag that was still there on the counter. He saw the cashier come out of his questioning daze and brushed off all of his apologies, taking the bag and physically wincing when his lower back sent a spike of pain to his nerves once more. _Shit…it’s not going to hold out much longer…_

“Are you alright, sir?” He heard the cashier ask before he sent him a forced smile. It was only a ten minute walk back home, a fifteen minute walk to Renjun’s apartment and a thirty minute walk to Jeno’s place…

 

…but it only took three seconds for Jaemin’s face to come into contact with the floor due to the chronic pain that was clawing at his back.

 

~ ~ ~

 

“You have to be fucking kidding me, Lee Jeno!” Renjun screamed into his phone as he hurriedly grabbed his jacket, keys and wallet and stuffed his feet into a pair of shoes. “You can’t tell me that babe is in emergency right now! You just _can’t_!” He felt tears prick at his eyes at the thought of Jaemin - _their_ Jaemin - being in the emergency ward of the local hospital. Vaguely, he heard Chenle ask him something but Renjun could only make out one voice, his boyfriend who had called him.

“ _I’m_ as surprised about this as you are, baobei! His mum called me frantically because the hospital told her!” Jeno’s hysterical voice shouted back and Renjun could hear a car beep in the background.

“What the fuck are you doing, Jeno?! We can’t have two of us in emergency!” He screamed as he ran out the door and out of the apartment building, hoping that Chenle was responsible enough to lock the door.

“I’m running to emergency right now! _You_ better not be doing anything reckless!” Jeno warned him as he weaved through crowds of people and took sharp turns to make it to the hospital. He panted into the call, not caring whether or not Jeno heard him because _Jaemin was in emergency._ He heard Jeno talk to someone else - one of the nurses in emergency? - when he ran across the street in front of speeding cars to get to the hospital.

“Fuck!” _You better be okay, Jeno!_

“What happened?!” He shouted into the phone, ignoring all of the odd looks that strangers gave him as he willed his burning legs to keep running towards the hospital. _Two more streets…and then I’ll be there._

“They’re not letting anyone in! Something happened with his disc,” Jeno replied, breath coming out uneven as Renjun saw the tip of the hospital come into view.

“You can’t get in?! Disc?!” He questioned, not knowing what any of this cryptic language meant. _Am I really that bad at Korean that I don’t believe Jaemin has a problem with a disc?!_

“Yes, surgery and disc. Jaemin has a herniated disc in his lower back and it never really posed as a problem until now…Ah! I should have _known_ something was up when he asked me to carry his bag for him the other day!” He heard Jeno shriek out in frustration and promptly ended the call when he entered the sliding glass doors of the emergency ward, seeing Jeno straight away with Jaemin’s parents and currently screaming at his phone. Running up to him, Renjun tackled the other into a hug before pulling away and greeting Jaemin’s parents who smiled in return, obviously worried about their son.

“Jaemin has a herniated disc?!” He asked the other incredulously and immediately forgot what he was going to ask after when he saw Jeno’s bottom lip tremble with the other’s teary eyes. _Fucking hell, Jeno…_ Sighing, Renjun simply hugged his boyfriend again and buried his face in the taller’s chest.

“I’m sorry…I couldn’t pick up the signs earlier…” Jeno whispered in his ear and when Renjun pulled back, he saw a tear escape his eye, moving to wipe it as soon as he could.

“It’s not your fault. Jaemin isn’t the kind to voice out what’s wrong anyway,” He replied, pulling Jeno’s head down and planting a kiss on the other’s forehead. _Don’t cry…we’ll get through this…_

“But if I did-“

“Stop blaming yourself, baby. When did they say they were going to let us in?” He asked, hoping that Jeno had listened instead of being strung up on the information that Jaemin was in surgery.

 

“They didn’t.” He heard a deeper voice report and turned to see Jaemin’s parents looking at him with so much worry.

“They didn’t?” He asked and saw Jaemin’s father’s face fall. _Fuck._

“They didn’t,” The older man replied and Renjun let out a noise in frustration, feeling Jeno’s hands caress his waist to prevent him from lashing out at any of the fleeting people within the ward.

“Fuck,” He mumbled and held his head in his hands, worry invading every single cell that he possessed in his body because this was _Jaemin. Jaemin_ who was his smiling angel, _Jaemin_ who was the idiot that said that he hated both of them when he actually loved both of them and _Jaemin_ who didn’t deserve to have something cut his back open-

“Jun, they will help him,” Jeno mumbled as he kissed his forehead, melting Renjun’s fury and inner conflict as his heart beat faster in anticipation for the moment that his other boyfriend would get out of emergency.

“I know…I know that but…ugh!” Renjun cried out in frustration before he felt someone’s hands being carded through his hair, the motion feeling so much like _Jaemin_ and making his stomach sink since he knew that Jaemin wasn’t with them. When he bothered to look, he saw Jaemin’s mother’s warm smile being directed at him.

“Renjun, right? Jaemin won’t go down easily, that’s why he was able to do so much with the herniated disc in his back,” She said to him, actions comforting and managed to calm him down with Jeno’s soft kisses to his neck. _So that’s where Jaemin gets it from…_

“He’ll be out before you know it,” Jaemin’s father cut in, turning to ask a nurse on updates about his son’s situation after and Renjun let himself sigh out to calm his heart down.

“Come on, let’s go get a chair to sit on,” Jeno whispered in his ear before sniffling and leading Renjun to some empty seats with his arm around Renjun’s waist. _Something is missing…Jaemin, please be okay._

 

~ ~ ~

 

Waking up to someone shaking him, Jeno thought that the person was Jaemin since the action was so soft and caring but was severely disappointed when he saw he tear glistened eyes of Jaemin’s father.

“Mr Na?” He croaked out, only then realising the sleeping boy in his arms who hosted tear stains on his cheeks and was using Jeno’s chest as a pillow, fists balling up his shirt as he seemed to be having a nightmare. _Renjun…I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect either of you…_

“They said that he’s awake, Jeno. We already went to see him but he wants to see you two and threw us out. Nurse Do said that he’ll take you to him,” Jaemin’s father replied, chuckling slightly at the end of the sentence. “I’m sure Renjun would have screamed if I woke him up so I’ll leave that to you. We’re heading out to get some food for you two since it’s been around seven hours since you two fell asleep.” _Were we really out for that long?_

“Okay…” He mumbled and watched Jaemin’s parents exit the hospital to buy the food that they had promised. Taking a look outside when the exited, Jeno noticed that it was now night as opposed to the afternoon sun that had heated his back when he ran here. Carefully shaking the smaller boy who was on him, Jeno carefully placed kisses all over the older’s forehead in an attempt to wake him up. “Renjun…baobei…Jaemin’s up…” He heard Renjun groan before he witnessed Renjun sleepily lift his head and rub his eyes.

“He is?” The other asked him, eyes drooping as Jeno kissed his lips gently as a greeting.

“Yeah that’s what his dad said…” Jeno replied, scanning the emergency ward and seeing a nurse walk towards them.

“I assume you two are the ones that Na Jaemin requested for? I’m Nurse Do and I’ll be taking you to him,” The nurse informed them, Jeno hastily getting Renjun to stand up and held his hand to ensure that he didn’t fall over.

“I think so. His dad just told me that he wanted to see us,” Jeno said in response, seeing the nurse nod and walk ahead, not bothering to look back. Pulling Renjun along, Jeno felt the last remnants of sleep leave his body as Nurse Do opened the door to a specific room and saw Jaemin - _their_ Jaemin - sitting there, looking out the window and not even moving when he heard them.

 

“Jaemin…” He heard Renjun whisper out and saw his short boyfriend break free from his hold as he ran to the side of the bed, hugging Jaemin’s neck. Finally turning to see them, Jeno felt tears fall down his cheeks when he saw the dejected look within Jaemin’s usually happy orbs.

“Baobei…baby…” He heard Jaemin breathe out and walked towards them, placing on of his hands on Renjun’s back as he leaned over to kiss Jaemin gently. Rubbing his hand on Renjun’s back in circles, Jeno saw that Jaemin was trying not to cry in front of them.

“They said it was a herniated disc in your back,” Jeno said, seeing Renjun lean back out of the corner of his eye and used his free hand to grab one of Jaemin’s, Renjun doing the same. He saw Jaemin avoid there gazes once more, choosing to look out the window.

“I’m sorry,” Jaemin said to them, voice barely above a whisper and quivering as if what he was saying was forbidden.

“Jaemin, it’s not your fault,” Renjun reasoned, leaning forward to try and get a glimpse of Jaemin’s expression but only causing the youngest to look away even more.

“It is…I didn’t take care of my body properly-“

“Don’t give me that fucking bullshit,” Jeno spat out, eyes narrowing at his boyfriend who snapped his head at him in surprise. _Don’t lie._ “You know I hate it when you lie. Words and actions, you’re lying through gritted teeth and putting up a front, Na Jaemin. We know you are.”

 

_Don’t pretend like everything is going smoothly when it’s not._

 

~ ~ ~

 

Jaemin hated crying in general but he hated crying in front of people more. That was why when he felt his tears fall in that hospital room with his two boyfriends, he couldn’t help but feel hopeless and degrade himself even more. _You’re here because you’re an idiot who didn’t visit the doctor…now you have to get surgery._

“I…I have to get surgery. They said that it has to be soon otherwise something can happen to my nerves,” He explained, swallowing roughly before observing the reactions of his boyfriends. Renjun simply buried his face into his shoulder as Jeno looked like a mixture between relief and worry. Both were beautiful in their own way but Jaemin knew that both were hurting because of his words. “I have to get the whole disc removed and replaced with an artificial one. They explained the procedure to myself and my parents and we decided that I’m going to be getting it sometime this week.” _Which means that I won’t be able to give you two your gifts…_

“Why didn’t you tell us anything?!” Jaemin flinched when Jeno raised his voice, hand hurting since Jeno was squeezing it so hard. _Jeno, stop blaming yourself. It’s_ my _fault, if anything!_ “Why didn’t you get it checked earlier, Min?!” _Because I wanted to spend more time with you…_

“Jeno, stop. We don’t need division right now,” Renjun piped up, glaring at Jeno before turning his glare on Jaemin, eyes piercing his very soul. “You better rest properly during your surgery, Jaemin, and you better try your best at physical therapy too.” _They’re not…they’re not leaving because I’m practically a burden right now?_

“What the fuck do you mean by ‘not leaving’?! We’d never leave you, idiot.” He heard Jeno sigh out and before he knew it, he was being engulfed by the other two in the room.

“Did I think out loud again?” He asked and heard Renjun chuckle as Jeno sighed and kissed his tears away.

“Yes but that’s okay,” Renjun replied, pulling back slightly to look at him. “Do you know when you’ll be getting the surgery exactly?”

“Well no…all I know is that they’re trying to find an open slot this week, the surgeon is already stationed in this hospital so we’re lucky,” He said and saw the gears in Renjun’s brain turn as he thought.

“We’re here every step of the way, Jaemin,’ Jeno whispered and kissed his forehead as other people entered the room with a box of donuts.

“Sorry to break your moment but you three must be hungry,” Jaemin’s mother said and held up the box that she was carrying. “Donuts?”

 

 _I have to get better…for them...even if this kills me...I_ will  _get better._


	2. Recognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’ll get something for him after school to give to him when he comes out of surgery.” 
> 
> That sounds nice.

~ ~ ~

 

“Renjun, it’s okay. Jaemin’s surgery will be fine.” Renjun couldn’t help but squeeze Jeno’s hand more from where he held it underneath the table at lunch, ignoring all of their other friends and their arguments. _But what if things go wrong?_

“I know how worried you are but we need to keep it together,” Jeno whispered to his boyfriend, tears barely falling as Renjun watched him blink them away. “We’ll get something for him after school to give to him when he comes out of surgery.” _That sounds nice._ Humming in agreement, Renjun nodded and bit his lip in an attempt to hold back his tears. 

“Yeah…let’s do that,” Renjun mumbled as Jeno began to hug him, flipping off Donghyuck who had wolf whistled at them. He relished in the warmth that came with Jeno burying his head in his neck and couldn’t help but want more warmth being given to him. 

“What do you want to get him, baobei?” He heard Jeno ask and felt some of the slightly younger male’s tears fall on his uniform shirt, heart breaking at the thought of Jeno crying and hiding it just for him to be stronger. _I have to do something to make sure he can keep going too. I can’t always be the dead weight that cries._

“He likes jewellery…so maybe that?” He suggested, remembering the stack of beautiful jewellery that he had found in Jaemin’s bedroom the month before - the kind that suited his boyfriend more than it would suit anyone else. 

“Alright,” Jeno replied, sighing out and burying his face more into Renjun’s shoulder, Renjun’s heart not tiring and speeding up in response. “We’ll go to the jewellery store later.”

“What should we get him?” Renjun asked, watching as Jeno pulled back and wiped some of the tears that were leaving tracks on his cheeks. _I can’t wipe away both of your tears so the least I can do is wipe away yours, Jeno._

“Some rings?” Jeno mumbled, eyes locking onto Renjun’s as both pairs widened. _Rings?!_

“Jeno, we’re in high school! We’re not even graduating this year!” He shouted out, hands grabbing the idiot’s collar and shaking him slightly as Jeno spluttered for a reply. _I mean, I don’t mind but we’re too young!_

“That’s not what I meant! I just wanted to get him some rings because he doesn’t have a lot!” Jeno protested, hands coming to pry Renjun’s off his collar and cease his vigorous shaking. “Plus, it can be like promise rings for us! A promise that we’ll always be there for him! We can get three!” Sighing in relief since his boyfriend wasn’t planning a three way wedding, Renjun took a deep breath before flicking Jeno’s forehead lightly.

“You’re so soft…” He whispered before smiling slightly at his boyfriend. “You better not back out with paying half of the price.” 

 

Renjun used to think that Jaemin’s smile was the brightest and even though it still as first place in his opinion, Jeno’s smile was a very _very_ close second. The amount of fondness and sunlight that he saw within Jeno’s smile was enough to make him vow to always make his boyfriends smile, not matter what the situation was.

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, baobei.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

“How about that one?” Jeno asked Renjun, squeezing the shorter male’s hand and pointing to a ring on display. It was a silver band with some gold on top in the middle running through, effectively shining and reminding Jeno of their current situation - the silver bands that were on either side of the gold band were himself and Renjun, the gold being Jaemin. _It’s like how the silver seems to be comforting the gold…it’s like_ us. He felt Renjun’s hand squeeze his back when he was admiring the clear engraving of the infinity sign, remembering the promise that he wanted to make with these rings. 

“Okay, baby,” Renjun whispered to him, bringing him out of his own thoughts and calling over the cashier. “Hi, can we get three of this specific ring?” _Way to make it sound weird._

“Three? There’s only two of you…” The cashier commented as he began to open the drawer behind the counter and pull out three small boxes, opening each one and showing them the three identical rings. “This one, right?”

“Yep, that’s the one,” Jeno said and smiled to himself when all of them went to the cashier to pay, taking his wallet out on the way and letting Renjun hold it as he picked out his card.

“Special occasion?” The cashier asked them as he scanned the boxes, asking about their method of payment to which Jeno graciously flashed his credit card. He saw the cashier eye their intertwined hands and raise an eyebrow at Jeno’s gesture of showing his card in response. _Why the hell does he seem so surprised? Heaps of people do it - I even got Jaemin to do it too!_

“A little? Our boyfriend is in surgery for his back and we want to give this to him as a present for when he comes out,” Renjun replied to the cashier who looked at them in surprise before almost dropping the last box into the bag. 

“Your boyfriend is in hospital?” The cashier asked and Jeno could tell that he was panicking through the anxiety that was evident in his eyes. 

“Not mine, _our._ I have two and this is only one of them,” Renjun said, pointing to Jeno who simply observed the cashier’s eyes widen even more at the sentence. _Does he know Jaemin?_ “They’re pretty amazing.” _Bragging about us now, Huang Renjun?_

“Is he…a few days ago when I was on shift, this customer got some things for a present,” The cashier stated as Jeno pulled away his card from the machine. _So? Heaps of people do that._ “He said that it was for his two boyfriends…” Looking at Renjun when he heard that sentence, Jeno couldn’t help but hear the unasked question that was formed in both of their minds. 

 

_Was that Jaemin?_

 

“What happened to him?” Jeno asked the cashier quickly, feeling slight pain from where Renjun was squeezing his hand harshly. _It must have been Jaemin…not many people out there have two boyfriends and not all of them like jewellery as much as Jaemin insists we do._

“He collapsed here while clutching his back…” The cashier trailed off and making Jeno realise that this mystery customer was probably Jaemin. 

“Were you the one who called the ambulance?!” He heard Renjun shout out, eyes teary with silent pleads and he heard his boyfriend gasp when the cashier nodded his head. 

“Did…Have one of you won an art competition with art inspired by your relationship?” Jeno nearly choked when he heard that question, the accuracy was too high for the mystery customer to be anyone else. He heard Renjun let out a sigh and felt the shorter male’s head rest on his shoulder. _That was Jaemin…man, what was he even doing here in the first place?_ “Sorry…is there something I’m missing here?” _Right, the cashier is still here._

“Sorry, sorry,” Renjun hastily apologised, pulling away and taking his warmth with him. “I won a surreal art competition held by this university with five panels of my boyfriends.” As the cashier was handing over the bag to Jeno, Jeno found himself thanking the heavens that he had actually been holding the bag already for the cashier let go off his hold on the bag. 

“ _‘This Is Us’_?!” The cashier forced out and Jeno saw Renjun’s face look at the cashier in confusion.

“Um…that was the name of my piece, yes,” Renjun replied, looking on in confusion at the cashier who was staring at him wide eyed. _Don’t tell me that he knows who Renjun is…_

“Then that means you’re…you’re…” The cashier mumbled out before Renjun decided for him.

“I’m…?” 

“Huang Renjun?!” The cashier spluttered out loudly and Jeno choked on some of his own spit, resulting in a coughing fit and Renjun patting his back. _Shit that scared me._

“Yes?” Renjun answered before the cashier shook his head and simply smiled at them - a genuine smile and not the fake one that they had encountered when they arrived at the store. 

“Nothing…just…thank you,” The cashier said before he bowed his head and waited for them to leave. Once they got out of the jewellery store with the bag of the rings hanging around his wrist, Jeno noticed that Renjun was quieter than usual. _Is he good? It’s just like when he zoned out at the gallery…_

“You alright?” He asked the shorter male while he poked Renjun’s cheek with the hand that wasn’t holding his. Amused, Jeno watched on as Renjun flinched and slowly came back to reality.

“Yeah, I’m good…that was just…odd,” Renjun replied, shaking his head and both of them dropped the topic, neither wanting to bring it up again. 

“Come on, we still have a few more hours before Jaemin’s surgery ends…let’s go my place,” Renjun stated and pulled Jeno along the street in the direction of his apartment, pulling Jeno’s heart along with him. 

 

_Well that was weird but then again, I would be that surprised too if I had met the creator of those amazing panels._

 

~ ~ ~

 

Waking up after surgery was the most weirdest thing that Jaemin had ever experienced in his life. The last thing he remembered was the bright light that made his head hurt along with the rough material of the hospital bed mattress that had itched his cheek as he lied down on his stomach, waiting for the surgeons to slice open his lower back. Try as he might, the only other thing he could recall was the discomfort of the mask and the faint smell of the gas that they had made him inhale. _I wonder if they found anything else wrong with me._ Slowly moving to sit up, he was surprised to find someone else’s hand on his shoulder that prevented him from getting up. 

“Don’t sit up yet, the anaesthetics will only make it worse for you so wait until they wear off,” The person told him, Jaemin’s eyes travelling up the other’s arm to see a kind face of the nurse that had accompanied the surgeon when he had been rushed to hospital. “Hopefully, you’ll only be here for around a week before you can be discharged but even then you need to continue physical therapy and properly take care of your back.”

“When will physical therapy be done?” He asked, wanting to know when he could lift Renjun up high again or wrestle playfully with Jeno again. _Fuck…I really miss them…_

“Probably half a year but you’d still have to be careful to not get another herniated disc,” The nurse replied, writing things down on a piece of paper that looked like it had another language printed on it. “Stop sulking, you’re still young.”

“Just because I’m young doesn’t mean that I’m going to be happy all the time,” Jaemin shot back and moved to sit up, the nurse sighing before helping him. 

“Alright, who are you missing?” The nurse asked, clearly seeing what he was truly feeling behind the indifferent face that he forced upon himself, hiding the pain in his heart and his back. 

“Just my boyfriends…I was going to give them gifts but then my back acted up…” He trailed off, not wanting to remember the weird conversation he had with the cashier that day, nor the pain that followed afterwards.

“You mean that?” The nurse asked, pointing towards a bag that was on the bedside table, the logo of the jewellery store that he had gone to prior to his fall on the front. When he reached for the bag and pried it open, he was met with the familiar couple bracelet and pair of earrings that he had purchased for Renjun and Jeno. “When you were in the surgery room, some guy wearing a uniform from that store ran all the way here and caused a ruckus. He kept shouting ‘Huang Renjun’s boyfriend left this!’ and causing all of us nurses to get a headache.” _The cashier knows Renjun? How?_

“And you led him to the room?” Jaemin asked, snorting after because what kind of security did this place have? 

“No, your parents saw him and approached him when they heard the name ‘Huang Renjun’. Then they brought it in here,” The nurse answered, shrugging at the end of the sentence and leaving the room. “I’ll get the doctor and your parents. Be back in a few.” Nodding his head, Jaemin couldn’t help but stare at the pieces of jewellery that were in the bag. 

 

_Damn it…now I miss them even more…I wonder how they’re doing without me…_

 

“Jaemin!” His mother’s shrill voice interrupted his thoughts as he turned and saw her rush in, engulfing him in a hug as his father simply sighed in relief and walked calmer towards him. He saw a doctor come in and read the sheet that the nurse had filled out before shooing his parents off him and performing mandatory checks, asking him questions about how he felt. _Too bad I can’t say that my heart hurts because they’re not here…_ He barely registered the doctor leaving along with the nurse and barely heard whatever his mother and father were saying either. It was a mess of words that only sounded like muffles, serving no other purpose than to act as background noise since Na Jaemin was sure that he wasn’t hallucinating when two figures came into view.

“Baby…baobei…” He mumbled which made the background noise of his parents’ words stop abruptly, the couple leaving once they realised who Jaemin was looking at. They were angels - actual angels - as they stood there at the entrance of the room, each wearing one of Jeno’s hoodies with Renjun holding a bag that was identical to the one in his lap. Their tousled hair and slightly swollen lips told Jaemin all he needed to know but instead of jealously, all he could feel was _relief_ that they had visited him and _joy_ since they didn’t leave him. 

“Hey babe,” Jeno said as they both walked towards him, Jeno’s arm around Renjun’s waist, leaving Jaemin to desire to place his arm there too. 

“Hey baby, hey baobei,” He replied and was greeted with Renjun smiling wide at him before he pushed his lips against his own. They were soft, Renjun’s lips were always soft, and Jaemin kissed back as he tasted sweet sugar and chocolate. Opening his eyes as Renjun pulled back, Jaemin turned towards Jeno who gave him a short peck on the lips and making him pout. “I go through a surgery and that’s all I get from you?!”

“There’s the Jaemin that I know,” Jeno replied, rewarding him with a gentle kiss of his own that tasted like mints and happiness. Humming in content, Jaemin was severely disappointed when Jeno pulled away and heard Renjun laugh at him when he pouted. 

 

_Oh shit, the presents! They’re right there!_

 

~ ~ ~

 

“How’s your back going?” Renjun heard Jeno ask Jaemin in an attempt to get the pout off the youngest’s face. He saw Jaemin’s face scrunch itself up in dislike before the youngest placed his hand on his lower back, massaging it. 

“It hurts a bit but nothing like before. I think it’s just discomfort because of the artificial disk,” Jaemin replied and Renjun sighed out in relief. 

“You really scared us, you know. Getting in emergency and then crying without a warning,” He stated, sitting on the edge of the bed and turning his body to face Jaemin, placing the bag with his boyfriend’s gifts beside him gently. “Both of us cried while waiting for you…”

“Ah! Jun! Don’t tell him that!” Jeno spluttered out, cheeks heating up at being exposed and making Renjun laugh even more. _This is how it’s meant to be._ As he was laughing, Renjun reached out to hold Jaemin’s hand but was stopped when his hand hit a bag of a certain jewellery store. 

“What’s this for?” He asked Jaemin, observing and cherishing the way that Jaemin blushed furiously as he tried to grab the bag out of Renjun’s strong grip. 

“It’s nothing! Don’t worry!” He heard Jaemin shout in the room before Jeno pried the bag out of both of their hands. “Ah! Don’t-“ With wide eyes, Renjun watched as Jeno first pulled out a pair of bracelets that were simple bands but obviously meant for a _couple_. Sharing a questioning look with Jeno as Jaemin’s pleads were ignored, Renjun simply watched even more when Jeno placed the bracelets inside with care and pulled out a pair of earrings - simple rings with a chain that was long enough for Renjun to imagine Jeno wearing them. Looking back at Jaemin, Renjun felt his heart warm when he saw the youngest one blushing so hard that he would put tomatoes to shame. 

“I assume these are ours?”Turning his head back to ask Jeno what he had meant made Renjun see the brilliant smirk that was plastered one the other’s face - the same smirk that made him think of the events that had occurred earlier today. 

 

_The cashier was the one who called the ambulance when Jaemin collapsed._

 

_The cashier knows stuff about us that Jaemin told him._

 

_The cashier said that that specific customer, who is Jaemin, bought some things for his two boyfriends._

 

_Jeno is dating Jaemin._

 

_I’m dating Jaemin, too._

 

_Jaemin is the customer._

 

_So that means that Jaemin bought Jeno and myself jewellery._

 

_Jaemin bought us jewellery._

 

“Holy fucking shit, Jaemin, you-“ Renjun was cut off by Jaemin covering his mouth with his hand, glare towards him evident. 

“You two weren’t meant to receive them like this, I swear,” Jaemin said, taking his hand away after Renjun had happily licked it to free his ability to speak. _Then how were you going to give them to us? With a whole bunch of cheesy shit?_

“Then how, Min?” Jeno asked the youngest, smirk growing even wider as he took a few steps back to be more dramatic. Renjun watched as Jeno walked up to him, making a show of strutting with confidence in an exaggeration of Jaemin’s walk, holding out the bag and bowing slightly as he looked up at him. “Oh, my dear _princess_ , please accept my humble offering of two fucking bracelets and a pair of earrings that cost more than my own clothes.” Bursting out in laughter alongside Jaemin, Renjun tried to hide his flushed cheeks as he shoved away Jeno who had taken the opportunity to lean closer. 

“I’m a _guy_ , you idiot!” He protested between his laughs before he felt Jaemin tug the sleeve of the hoodie that he was wearing, his own laughs threatening to go past his own lips. 

“But you’re _our_ princess, Jun.” He heard Jaemin whisper sincerely and nearly put the other in a chokehold, the only thing restraining him being the fact that the other had just come out of surgery. So, naturally, Renjun used Jeno as a substitute. 

“Why the hell are you strangling me when Jaemin was the one who said it?!” At the protest, Renjun simply tightened his hold as Jeno squirmed more in his grip. 

“Jaemin just came out of surgery! It has to be you!” Renjun shouted, letting go of Jeno once the other’s slaps caused his skin to tingle with pain. 

“Thank you for taking the pain for me, Jeno,” Jaemin piped up, blowing a kiss to the idiot who was currently glaring at him as he tried to even out his breaths. 

“You fucking masochist…” Jeno whispered lowly, voice threatening and meeting Jaemin’s smile that never failed to make Renjun weak. _Goddamn it, I love them so much._

“Only for you, baby.” Was Jaemin’s greasy reply, accompanied with two equally disgusting winks, one aimed at Jeno and the other aimed at Renjun, himself. _Please, stop…_ Although it made both of them cringe, Renjun couldn’t deny how his heart picked up speed at the action and wouldn’t deny how Jeno’s did the same.

“So who gets what?” Renjun asked him as he took the bag out of Jeno’s hands and pulled out the earrings, holding them up. “These are Jeno’s, right?” Seeing Jaemin nod and look away in embarrassment, Renjun could only smile just as brightly as Jeno during the exchange of the earrings. 

 

_He’s so cute…they’re both so cute…_

 

_~ ~ ~_

 

As he eyed the pair of earrings that were given to him by Renjun, Jeno sighed before placing one into the hole near the top of his left ear and letting the chain fall around the shell, barely reaching the lobe. Walking over to Jaemin, Jeno could only smile as he placed the other earring in Jaemin’s right ear, adjusting the chain to match his own. 

“I assume that’s what this was intended for?” He asked the youngest who only looked away even more in embarrassment, fiddling with his fingers that were tin his lap. Jeno heard Renjun snort before he saw the smallest male take both of Jaemin’s hands into his own. 

“Don’t worry, you’re already super cheesy anyway so admitting it won’t make that much of a difference,” Renjun said in mock comfort, the statement making Jeno chuckle and place a kiss to Jaemin’s temple. He heard the other sigh before seeing him grab the bag from Renjun’s lap, pulling out the bracelets and roughly pulling Renjun’s left wrist towards him. 

“Since you’re right handed, this will stay on your left.” He heard the younger huff out and laughed at his adorable attempts of being mad. Jeno felt content with watching Jaemin gently put the bracelet on Renjun’s wrist, shortly doing the same with the other one - his one. 

“Thank you, babe,” Jeno whispered to Jaemin when the younger was done, pressing three more kisses to the top of his head. He saw Renjun place a light kiss on the tip of Jaemin’s nose, smiling breaking out as he thanked Jaemin as well. 

 

_We still have the rings!_

 

“We got you something too,” Jeno mumbled before Renjun turned around from where he was seated on the edge of the bed, the familiar bag coming into view as Renjun placed it in Jaemin’s lap. Deciding to be a good boyfriend, Jeno moved the empty bag that previously had Jaemin’s gifts out of the way and placed it on the bedside table. He sat on the edge of the bed when he was done, shoulder touching Jaemin’s as his knee touched Renjun’s.

“It’s to make sure you have a speedy recovery because we’re the most supportive people on the planet!” Renjun exclaimed, successfully making Jaemin laugh as he reached inside the bag and pulled out the three boxes. _Poor Jaemin, he’s confused as hell._

“This is mine,” Jeno stated before he took one of the boxes and picked up another one, giving it to Renjun. “That’s his…”

“And the last is yours,” Renjun finished, waiting for Jaemin to open the box before any of them opened their own. _Thank god we were able to follow that shitty script that we made on the way here._ As Jaemin opened the box, Jeno and Renjun did the same to their own and smiled fondly when Jaemin stared in amazement at the three identical rings. 

“Wow…I…thank you,” Jaemin mumbled, moving to kiss his temple bit more and vaguely registering Renjun peppering kisses on the face of the youngest. “Really, thank you.”

“We should be thanking you. Your gifts were more expensive,” Renjun protested, pouting slightly as Jeno ran his hands through the older’s hair. He heard Jaemin laugh when Renjun practically nuzzled into his hand. 

“It’s alright…because it’s you two.” Were the words that Jaemin whispered to them next, head falling onto Jeno’s shoulder and eyes falling shut. Chuckling, Jeno wrapped his left arm around the younger, bringing him closer as Renjun made an inhuman screech.

“You can’t sleep on Jeno yet! Your mum’s coming back with food, Na Jaemin!” Jeno chuckled once more when he heard Jaemin groan at the noise but didn’t make any move to sit properly. 

“Just feed me when she comes then.” He heard Jaemin reply sleepily and lightly flicked the younger’s forehead, sending Renjun into a panic to be gentle to Jaemin since he had just come out of surgery as was _precious_ (Jeno, although he wholeheartedly agreed, still flicked Jaemin’s head once more for good measure). 

“We have to go home soon so we won’t be able to,” He reasoned, laughing at Jaemin’s pout and flinching when Renjun screamed. 

“I still have some worksheets to do for math! Jeno, we have to go now!” Renjun screamed and immediately stood up, bracelet jumping all over his wrist as the smaller male attempted to drag Jeno’s huge body off Jaemin and out the door with the box of his ring being held tight in his hand. Jeno held his own box just as tightly, laughing all the while.

 

_Yeah…these two are pretty amazing…_

 

“Jeno, come _on_!” 

“But Jaemin will be alone-“

“It’s okay, baby. Visit me tomorrow.”

 

 _No…not pretty_ _amazing or even just pretty or just amazing…_

 

_They’re all I need to get through any hardship, big or small._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND IT'S DONE~!
> 
> So I don't know if this was what you wanted but it was what I had imagined when I planned to write a story about Jaemin's back injury. As sad as it is, I wanted there to be like some kind of better meaning and well...the couple bracelets that RenMin have irl haven't made it into any of my stories so far so....THIS HAPPENED. I hope you all enjoyed it like you did with my other stories and just *sending flying kisses* 
> 
> CRACKS IN THE SMILE REACHED 200 PALJFBHJSKZJEGIUVKDZEFK THANK YOU
> 
> YUHYUCK STORY REACHED 50 AJFNLSKLDR,NGISJLR THANK YOU
> 
> WE'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT REACHED 100 SDKGJBAWJLKLEFSIVSUEZ THANK YOU
> 
> YOU ALL ARE AWESOME SO KEEP LOVING THIS SERIES AS ALWAYS AND I WILL TRY MY BEST TO WRITE BETTER CONTENT FOR ALL OF YOU (Within this series and outside of it too!)
> 
> KEEP SMILING EVERYONE~!

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me that I'm not the only one crying because I feel like I'm the only one crying...
> 
> Part two will be up ASAP so be sure to wait for me~!


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